Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-05-18
BRAlTHW AIrES VIEW
EXTRACTS PROM The OFFICIAL RIB.
C0BD OF rRE DEBT CONFERENCE.
Report Of the legislative Committee
10 the Two Houses Demands
Of the BondhOlders.

q book % $50 pages. It will therefore b.
seen that these extracts cln be no NOR
llan sample Of the views presented OF
behalf Of the bOndhOldcIs A. the sam
fine II i believed that The selections hly
tCcn made with such care that no injustic
l. Gone htssTs. Thornton aud Bcaitnwaite
throughout their own language. as IL Is II
the oflicial record, Is used. Mr. Braith
Varc was usually the Spokesman OF to-
commissioners, and nearly all the talkin;
that WAS done for the Council OF Foreigi
POndtolders was done by him. but ST
Edward Thornton vas always present, au(
approving, q, the committee understood.
BE. BEAIrHwAITE's FIRST STATEMENT.
Tie fT.t days Of the conference were oc
| cupicd bv mcmh'rs Of the legislative CON
mipee in explaining the position Of th'
! SJt'; her Ioimcr wealth. her pTesen
poverty, The various funding bil> that haC
teen pissed, &c, after which Mr.. BYnlh
waite said:
was coming particularly % the poln, ir
! regard 20 your CIi cnlituics for schools anl
| literary ana eleerosynary institutions. hnd
! On comparing ne expenditures Of various
| years. especially or fcroOls. thai Ia the yea
| ltFO you expended Cut of the state funds about
| 600 Geo, ana w the year 1896 you expended
| sS3l,Gt0 1hai fnct alono, think, shows tina
| tho increase 81 expenditure IS entirely ont OF
| TropOricn 60 aHy increase OF population, aud
I iiy conn arisen tf tlp average cost per pupil
| h ayoidce attendance l. ia also apparent thai
J the ,oet is iar IN excess Of any reasonable re
] cfssitita Of the Ca-e. You now eXpend on a..
| count of whnt YOU cell GrrcGrages the sum OF
| SscO eco; $4,000 OF which. believe, il applied
| 90 schools ana tts other $4,000 applied TO lie.
/ rGfy institutions. Now, Whdtcver you may be
| round by your Constitution TO apply 10 schools,
! you are not bC md 90 make any expenditure
| on account Of literary institutions. What i
| the constitutional expenditure? Is il the fund
| 10 be applied 20 primary or advanced schools .
| The Chairman: OF different grades.
Mr. BrcitlWeite Does that provision Of tho
| Constitution apply 20 these various colegesl
Mr. Wickhan: 70 sir.
Mr. BrliihWaiie: But that ia not important.
But af any rite, Il IN the circumstances OF she
case you are unable tD spend tie fun amount
| that yOr ought % apply in any particular year.
af q If you did not educate the number of pa
pil- tlat you thought you ought % educate, ii
Goes no, follow ,Lat you must take funds from
another year 90 DO So and increase your num-
tCrof children on account Of ths deficiency in
previous years:
Pr. figgat II you Will allow me, will state
thai Won are nistHlSu about that
Mi. BrailhV8itc: Whether that il 80 or no..
there would BE 30 Justification Cn The part OF r
state whose necessities are slch that IL cannot
VItSld" for Cli .lc necessities OF that state :
n al ,he state eEOgid provide a very large sum
q money 20 carry on q particular object hnI
leave thc other necessities OF the State entirely
uTYroyidod for. We claim, therefore. that II
tho schools were able in former years TO get
alcuE, and with fair eniciency as apparently
they did, Judging from your own reports
there Is no requirement at the present
day that you should apply an amount
which yen should have expended IN pre-
viOus years for similar and larger ex-
pcudturcs on the same object in the present
year That amount. we submit. is sum
which is fully 40 the dispOsa! OF The State for
other purposes We claim that in addition to
The figures you gave US, IN tho first instance
You hGyo available the sum Of S30).oJJ
which you may. without any damage 10
your RchCOl system. apply, If you will, 10 lac
VaVment of your debt You will also see that.
90 far az Our opinion goes, you have not col
lcCtcd that cmount Of revenue which. Dy a
IIopor administration, you might be expected
tO collect. We mud that you have arrears.
For ihc,veaT 1885 Senate Reports No. 4, psEe
49, 10 appears that there are taxes in arrsarf,
up 70 u e. 3Oh Of Scntcmber, 1886, 10 The
amount Of t5l2 l3f. auC that anOunt, as | un-
lerftaud. il IN addition % the amount Of taXes
rendered iu coupons, but which has not been
included aMOnGB. G-rcarS-tlat - - say, come
where The coupons have been refused. Tha,
laai item am unable at tie moment 70 give
any tstiraaie Of on our eile IS to what &c maT
De. tut am told in Richmond alone, in he
Lass year, $4,000 or thcreaOO1is ia coupons
wne rendered. Now. it yOuF own report, you
eny that The total amount Of revenue which wa
lGiG I'm COuTOns was $4,000 for the whole Stats.
You gay that whilst am iniOfmed taat In
Richmond RlOnO bsrc was N excess over that
figure ~ some thirty-Odd thousand dollars, we
arc necessarily littlc in the dark as 20 what
these amounts may come to. but if yOu add
ycur tax afle6Is II you add the amount OF cOu-
ToHs. aud If yOu mako rcircIchment in some
other Of your items We believe tf 81 yOu Will a.
rive al Gsum ou Viii We might propose 10 you
fair and Reasonable besl- oi ssiilement IL is df-
uculi indeed for us 10 say where your reuench-
mtnt should taEO place. We only name some
items. You know better than w0 what are
your exigencies; but submit that II tke State
hag Il real ocfire 10 curtail Ia expenses you csu
ly careful administration, by dus supervision,
by proper efforts collect the taxes assessed, by
DUO enforcement Of the bonds which under
stand all yoCr USasurers give. by following the
pIOccdLre prescribed by yOur own laws. rail-.
q sum sufficient 10 enable rs TO propose
a fctilcment upon. ] am told, also, that q
treasurer b. HCt entitled O. claim rebate on
an amount he ought 70 collect until be has used
every effort 10 collect the taxes by appli alton
iu your own courts, and am Informed that IL
very many cases these large arrears have not
been collected in that fOrm-that is the trea-
surers have not taken the steps which are pre-
scribcd 10y law: ana yet. notwithstanding that
they are allowed in the statement cf their "a
counts Tor the amount o! these arrearasc-.
,fR. IRAlTBwaITE OK TIE DISABLED SOLDIERS.
will indicate another source Of large in-
crease In expenditure, and That IS IN the case OF
y0ir disabled soldiers. We are the last per-
p,nditufc for the roliet OF those now in need
Who were disabled al "A time when every man
in Tie country had 20 come forward and fight
for that country, but il seems 90 me eXtraor-
GlLCIy hat In tls year 1886, more than twenty
years after ire war Is over, the amour.
Of expenditure on account OF disabled
soldiers should he larger than the necessities OF
those years which Immediately followed the
close OF that war. II cannot be that the sum-
Der Il these disabled soldiers il larger in lStG
than IL was In 1865, IN the natural course OF
events In the period Of twenty years, which
is two thirds Of the average duration of human
litc, two thirds Of the persons then in
disabled condition must probably have
into consideration that you are not
dealing with children but dealing with men,
because you began az higher age when the
average duration Of life must be shorter, but
Notwithstanding this you have greatly increased
the expenditure on account OF These disabled
soldiers. From 1876 10 1877 you applied SO O03
fer this purpose, and for previous years. in
iS5,- 90. you appropriated only $1,000. In 1877
the amount was 5000, and in 1884 you applied
the amount Cf $40 900, which extended over
period OF TWO years, meaning Ss9,500 per year.
and in 1856, which, presume, also covered
eiiod OF two wears. you applied large sum.
\ on expended on this account in 1856 s4l 500,
which, compared with the expenditure in 1876,
Is more than twice the amount. aud you are eI-
pending this large sum at a time when you al
leee 20 us, the representatives Of the bouf-
holders, ttat You have not sufficient money to
pay your legitimate indebtedness Now. We
tannCt admit from our point OF view tina. you
have not the money TO pay your legitimate in
&c liedness In the face Of these expenditures
IRIS does not apply only 10 this item. but 70
oiher items, and yet you 80 on With au
increasing expenditure, whilst you leave your
creditors unpaid. II there was sincere
odOrt--yOu viii pardon ae for using the word
on TIE part Of tie state 10 DO what she could,
We should ask hor 20 do no more. We DO not
ask you 10 make unnecessary sacrifices, II
there is reasonable desire on your part 10 meet
thc legitimate and proper expenses Of the
state. Ou arc the judges hs % whore tina.
retrenctmont shall DO made. II seems 70 US
that II you made the proper effort you would
be able 10 provide q sum In excess Of leeiu-
mat0 expenses FOR The purpose OF settle
Inent, and on which we should be able 70 form
Ulate a scheme which the bOndholders, whilst
making largo sacrifices. would be prepared %
accept II you say we are now, Ia 1886. expend-
ing q larger amount OF money than we were
fow years ago, and II you say we are entitled
10 20 on increasing our expendltures sad II il
be n fact that this Is done whilst there ~ pract-
cR!ly q stationary revenue, then We say you
have not made those efforts which we feel we
are entitled 10 call upon you 10 make In order
70 provide for this debt.
CUT DOWN EXPENSES.
II you bring up your excess OF revenue 10 an
amount which would suffice. We can make you
= proposition. | DO not know whether We are
justified, az this stage OF the proceedings, In
saying what that proposition shall be, but
shall revert 10 II In moment think. how
ever, we are entitled 20 asa you, and 70 ask you
directly, Do you or do you not insist that your
pre- ent expenditures can be curtailed Ia any
sireetion3 II you do insist that II cannot he